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Friday, July 14, 2017

New York Evening Hours by Lieba Nesis

Jean Shafiroff Celebrates Bastille Day at Le Cirque

Jean Shafiroff with Zang Toi
Photo Marilyn Kirschner

Jean Shafiroff held her annual Bastille Day luncheon at Le Cirque beginning at 1PM. While most New Yorkers are away during the summer months, Jean was able to gather a crowd of 41 people on a hot summer day to congregate in midtown Manhattan - a difficult feat. The attendees included: Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Zang Toi, Geoffrey Bradfield, Margo Langenberg, George Gurley, Frederick Anderson, Maggie Norris, Nina Burleigh, Rachel Hirshfeld, Sharon Bush, Victor de Souza and so many others. Prince Dimitri is the paradigm of elegance, and comes from lineage so regal that he is related to every royal in Europe and 1,000th in the line of succession to the British throne.

Some other good friends of Jean at the luncheon included the whole Lookonline/DFR: Daily Fashion Report staff with Marilyn Kirschner, Laurel Marcus, Jill Golden, Rhonda Erb and the publisher Ernest Schmatolla enjoying the afternoon reunion. While recent reports stated Le Cirque is bankrupt, I have had a number of delicious meals there recently. Today was no exception, with a delicious lunch of tuna tartare and bronzini culminating with a dessert consisting of beautifully constructed chocolate soufflé and cream brûlée.

The Long Table!
Photo Marilyn Kirschner

The hostess Jean Shafiroff, looking svelte in a pink and yellow Zac Posen dress, spoke of the need for our country to unite and avoid divisiveness in our tumultuous times. She said our enemies would want to see us disagree and therefore, it was necessary to come together. Jean has held this luncheon for five years and this year she honored the victims of terrorism and singled out those in Nice who suffered a horrific attack one year ago.

Jean has been on the board of the French Heritage Society for six years and made a donation to the Society in honor of Bastille Day while stressing the need for camaraderie. Bastille Day, the French national holiday, commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on July 14, 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute and arbitrary power of Louis the 16th's Ancient Regime. By capturing this symbol the people signaled that the king's authority should be limited by a separation of powers.

Commemorating this auspicious day, was a wonderful way to kick off the summer and guests were toasting Jean enthusiastically. Janna Bullock who wore an orange silk Chanel dress, told me she was excitedly anticipating her upcoming cruise to Alaska. Janna is involved in a number of great charities, promoting the arts and culture, and frequently hosts events at her magnificent beachfront Southampton home. I also had the opportunity to speak to Frederico Wasserman, a Frenchman, who follows a spartan diet in order to maintain a body fat percentage of 8 percent. Frederico is a marathon runner finishing his recent race in three hours and twenty minutes - the top 5 percent in his age group. Frederico, who looked trim and fabulous in a dark blue suit, did not dissuade me from digging into my dessert- hey it might be Bastille Day but I'm still a gluttonous American.

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Lookonline.com is the longest publishing online fashion site in the world. It was launched first as a BBS service in 1993 and has been on the Internet since December 1994. The DFR: Daily Fashion report is also the first fashion blog and was started in early 2002 as the site's main news page. Before launching the site, I was for many years a New York fashion photographer.